Thursday, 28 June 2012

The free prize draw was launched earlier in the week and we've not had a lot of takers for the plastic Captain below… so I have decided to make it even easier.

All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning this unique model is to add a comment to the bottom of this (or the original) blog post saying you want into the draw. The winner will be randomly selected thanks to random.org on Monday 1st July at around 10am GMT.

If you added a comment to the original post you don't need to do it again, you're already in.

Wednesday, 27 June 2012

With the release date of 6th Edition plummeting towards us, with the promise of Chaos Space Marines the first codex out of the blocks, supported by Chaos in the box set, my Iron Warriors look set to be the first of my 40k armies to see some love.

Back in their heyday they were my go-to tournament army – reliably successful if never spectacular. I never did the over-popular 3x Defiler, 9x Obliterator, 2x Daemon Prince list – I have too much integrity and respect for the spirit of the game – but I did run multiple 6-man units and no Aspiring Champions to max out on heavy weapons. What this has led to is a collection containing lots of heavy and special weapons and not many bolter grunts or Champions.

When I first started the army I fell in love with the fluff and wanted to create a true Legion. Of course I started with the characters and created the Champion at the top of the page, along with the converted Techmarine above.

Next came my Warsmith – how many of you can identify the component parts?!

He was great but susceptible to large blasts, lascannon fire and power weapons so, more often than not, died before contributing much to the cause. His elevation to Daemonhood swiftly followed and I was keen for the Daemon prince to be recongnisable as a bigger version of the Warsmith.

He has been a loyal servant to the cause and, as part of a firepower-driven force, always sat behind the firebase as a protector and deterrent. It didn't always work (his bark was usually worse than his bite) but he has clocked up his fair share of kills.

Despite building a Chosen Squad, a Command Rhino and Dreadnoughts – which did see action at a Conflict tournament one year – these units never made it to the first team, the Dreads now victims of an Ebay-based culling.

The Iron Warrior Basilisk and Baneblade (yes, I have an IW Baneblade!) were great support vehicles in non-competitive games, but it was the multitude of Predator tanks that provided the covering fire in tournaments – being able to take 4 in a single list was amazing and ensured they were the first things to be included.

I also have several Rhinos, a Vindicator and 6x Obliterators – it's all about the heavy weapons.

However, I've said this before and I'll say it again, the most valuable unit I ever fielded were my infiltrating Chosen. These guys were the real deal – the S. A. bloody-S.

Never have I seen such panic inflicted by 5/6 individual models in 40k, with a points cost barely scraping 100. If I was lucky they might inflict a kill or two, but more often than not their value lay in disrupting the enemies plans – the threat of what they could do, behind enemy lines, forcing my opponent to divert troops to deal with them.

++Conclusions++

Obviously, confirmed details about the new codex are quite thin on the ground so it's a little too early to be making sweeping statements. Similarly, we'll all need a game or two under 6th Edition conditions before we know what works or not. However, some initial observations can be made.

I didn't partake in 5th Ed much at all, certainly not with the Iron Warriors – I was so disgusted by how much character my army lost in the latest Chaos codex that I effectively retired. This means that the gulf between my 40k playing experience and the upcoming rules will be bigger than most of you.

I think my future IW lists will need to be more flexible than in the past – the glass(ish) cannon isn't going to cut it anymore. This would indicate my need for more grunts – I'll need to flesh out my 6-man squads to be full 10-man units and fill some of my redundant Rhinos.

The other thing that has been sadly missing is Terminators. I like the idea of a horde of Iron Warrior Terminators, but the cost implications will prevent this too much. If a new Dreadnought model is produced (and they tweak the rules) then that might be a must to support my Termis.

Aside from that I think I will need options when it comes to HQ. A Terminator armoured Warsmith would be a great addition, but the real need will be a Sorceror of some kind. I have several Thousand Sons magicians that I could use for the short-term, but it's gagging for an awesome Sith-like conversion.

If, as rumoured, there are Cultists then that opens up a whole new doorway of possibilities… it's all very exciting!

The basic premise was that, as much as I like the current Captain Tycho sculpt, I wanted something more dynamic (it's an issue I have with a lot of GW minis). The recently released (at the time) Sanguinary Guard plastics provided all the resources I needed to create the basis for my new commander.

Anyway, much like the rest of the Blood Angel project, the enthusiasm dried up and it's time to give the model a new home.

The model itself is entirely plastic, aside from the penny in the base ensuring he stays upright. As you can see I did start the greenstuff process to make him look a little closer to the original. I will find a suitable backpack to include before posting to the winner.

How do I win this stunning example of creativity?

Leave a caption!

Simples…

1…

Become a follower of this blog or of me on Twitter (make sure I know who you are if under a different name), if you follow already then great, you can skip this step!

The final day of entries is next Monday (1st July). My wife will choose a winner based upon your answers (she knows nothing about 40k) – unless she can't decide in which case I'll throw it over to random.org again.

Good luck!

++++

The winner of last week's competition has been contacted and I'm waiting for a response before announcing.

Monday, 25 June 2012

I've been promising it for the best part of a year, and now it's finally happening. The Blood Angels are leaving.

Yes, after a monster session on Ebay last night, I have everything listed so grab yourself a piece of Dark Templar history while you can. All auctions are due to end on Sunday evening, 1st July.

As well as the key models you see here, all of which have had their build and paint history documented on the site, there are a host of bits that were never used or never finished. These include etched brass sheets and built but unpainted models.

For those of you who have not read up on these Blood Angels you can browse through their history here – the posts go back quite a way.

Thursday, 21 June 2012

It's been a while since we saw any of my newbie Legion army on the blog, but things have been progressing.

The Raek is finally complete, adding a new dimension to the original starter set models. The Blue/White skin continues to be problematic on the larger beasts, mainly due to me not having pinned down a painting procedure – my normal technique that I illustrated earlier in the year doesn't work here with the skin so I'm still winging it a bit. With more mid-sized and larger beasts on the horizon, this issue will no doubt sort itself over time, or I'll take an age finishing anything.

I'm also starting to get the snow technique to a point where I really like the results (binned the Games Workshop snow). Adding white paint to the process was a disaster – as you can see on the base on the amputated Shredder – and excessive coverage isn't great either (Carnivean base, although this was used to cover a multitude of sins). The best results so far can be seen on the Forsaken's base (to the far right).

The painting process continues, and I have three potential 'easy wins' on the table at the moment. The last two Shredders should have been done by now if I'm honest – the bright lights of shiner models distracted me after the first two were finished. I also have my Shepherd, who should be quite quick to finish, following a similar scheme to Lylyth.

Then, waiting in the wings if you'll excuse the pun, is my next Heavy Warbeast – Angelius!

This model has been problematic to build due to some miscast pieces, most notably the lower body/tail section. The weight distribution has also been a challenge and, in order to remain stable, the model is almost off the front of the base – second attempt as the first wouldn't stay upright for long.

We also have the very patient Nephilim Bolt Thrower. He will be a great addition to the team but probably more appropriate further down the line – he's just too expensive points-wise in smaller games. A lovely model though, looking forward to paint him so he'll probably end up a slow burn.

The other addition is a new Warlock. As much as I love Lylyth and her abilities/spells, she loses a lot of her effectiveness against non-beasts – i.e. Warmachines – due to them using Focus instead of generating Fury. To rectify this I bought not one, but three new Warlocks, the first of which is Absylonia. She looks not disimilar to the Forsaken, but even more mutated, and she has some fantastic abilites which should prove a lot of fun against Bull's Menoth army. She should also be relatively quick to paint, which always helps motivation.

With the ongoing/upcoming 40k circus there will be more posts about GW. However, do not fear Warmahordes fans, this is where my addiction lies right now so there will be more to see.

Tuesday, 19 June 2012

Many of you folks have seen these guys being created, and now you can own them. Similar to last week, this will be a random prize draw (random.org) from the list of people who enter.

The Prize

First of all we have the Sanguinary High Priest. He was constructed a couple of years ago as part of my Blood Angel project, with some greenstuff work seen above. He is weighted down with a penny in the base, as with all my models, and all in all makes a pretty unique and nifty model for your army or model collection. His armour and chest eagle have been painted and highlighted to a good standard and work has begun on the white areas.

As well as the Priest, the winner also receives The Melta Guy. This history behind this fella has been well documented on this blog and who wouldn't want a hero of such calibre backing them up?!

He is similarly weighted in the base and has his armour painted and highlighted to a good standard. I will clean up the overspill before sending him out.

In addition to that I am prepared to finish painting the Sanguinary High Priest to the same standard as he was started – if the winner wants me to, there's no point if he's going to be stripped or repainted to match a different army scheme.

So there you have the prize… what do you need to do?

• First of all make sure you're a follower of this blog.
• Second, add a comment below letting me know you want to be included in the draw.

Easy!

As before I will rely on the power of random.org to take the decision-making process out of my hands.

By the way, congratulations to The Angry Lurker who was the winner of last week's prize draw!

Monday, 18 June 2012

Just a handful of things this week, starting with the fella above. He's the OOP Limited Edition Chaos Standard Bearer who has been converted into a Hero (simple weapon swap). I saw one of these guys (with Standard) go for £100 but I'm not asking anything like that for this version. He's had some metal skulls added to his base and been given a simple basecoat and ink paint job.

Next we have not one, but two sets of Chaos Warhounds. Not the new plastics mind you, these are the OOP metal versions. This first group (above) are pretty much as they came, bare metal superglued together and onto bases.

The second set have had a similar basecoat and ink paint job that the Hero has, plus the bases have been textured.

Finally this week there is a Crom the Conqueror conversion – a simple head swap. I believe this figure is now OOP, which I didn't realise. Again he is bare metal, just stuck together and onto his base.

Friday, 15 June 2012

As part of the preamble to the 6th Edition release, I have decided to go through the models I have in my various 40k armies and assess how things stand. Today it is the turn of the Dark Templar marines.

First of all we have the three benchmark marines of the latest DT incarnation. They were the test to prove the theory – that I could have a unique army of Mk 6 marines with each one having their own personality. They were also a test for the new purple and black colour scheme. However, individually sculpted shoulder pads made the process slow and laborious so the project stalled very quickly. Now I have the ability to cast resin at home things should become a lot easier, once a set of master sculpts have been done.

One of the other goals of the project was to find a way to include some of favourite classic Rogue Trader marines that represented my first step into the world of wargaming. Many of them sported Mk 6 armour anyway so it would be an ideal opportunity to give them a permanent home, rather than repaint them every 10 years or have them in a permanent state of bare metal.

Some of you may remember my Scout snipers as they were the subject of a greenstuff post in the early days of the blog. Like the veteran marines above, it would be nice to give them a permanent home.

These are two of the characters that were started alongside the benchmark marines at the top, who were going to lead the troops. The limited edition Black Templar model needed some amending to become a Dark Templar; the soon-to-be Chaplain is based upon a veteran marine with his head and arms cut off. These have the potential to be really unique models in the army – very exciting.

When I started the Blood Angels project back in 2010 I went nuts on Ebay and gathered together a collection of iconic models to have as part of the army. Now that project is being sold off I had the opportunity to offload these back on Ebay, but I think I will translate them into the new army – they're just too cool to let go! The Terminator Captain was my favourite model for many years and one of the first I ever painted. The limited edition Captain was one of those figures I always wanted to own back in the early nineties after seeing it in the pages of White Dwarf. It feels only right that these models become Dark Templar.

Two other, more recent, iconic model acquisitions are these Blood Angel Terminators from the Space Hulk box set. Similarly they were going to be a part of the Blood Angel project but (after some cutting and sawing) will make a fantastic addition to the Dark Templar ranks.

Conclusions

There's no doubt that I have manged to collect a group of fantastic models, and the prospect of having them all in my Dark Templar army is very exciting. However, the bottom line is that I don't even have a valid 5-man squad so I would be starting the army virtually from scratch. As much as I love the characters and Terminators that have been collected, when putting together a marine army it is the Troops that need to come first and in volume.

The path ahead is clear. Once I do get around to revisiting the Dark Templar I will need to dig out my collection of Mk6 bodies and heads that I have stashed in the attic (10 years' worth) and sculpt a set of shoulder pads and several sets of legs that can be used to quickly build my footsloggers.

Wednesday, 13 June 2012

So the idea is that, for the next 40 days or so, I'm going to be doing weekly giveaways of my unwanted 40k models. The first of these 'prize draws' starts today…

We're starting with a 5-man Blood Angel Assault Squad on foot.

The models are built using regular Space Marine and various Blood Angel sprues, based and weighted down with pennies in the base… for extra gravitas. Three of the models have been undercoated and have had their amour basecoated and highlighted. Two are awaiting an undercoat. Most of the models have metal shoulder pads!

They could be yours… for free.

An earlier photo of them, pre-paint

So, what do you have to do?

Firstly, make sure you're a follower of the blog – easy.

Second, add a comment to this post saying (clearly, don't be obscure or clever) that you want to be included in the draw.

The closing date will be 9.00am (GMT) Monday morning next week (18th) at which point I will randomly draw a name out of a hat (or a Sainsburys bag). Once I've got in touch with the lucky winner I'll post the stuff out to anywhere in the world… no charge.

So, put your name down or tell someone else who you think might benefit.

If this particular prize is not your bag, stay tuned as this will be a rolling competition so fresh prizes every Monday!

Monday, 11 June 2012

I'm assuming you all saw the teaser trailer released by GW relating to the launch of 6th Edition 40k on 23rd June. I also assume the regular visitors among you read my recent thoughts about WMH vs WH40k.

With all this in mind, I've been going through my 40k miniatures and assessing their future and have a plan. As mentioned in the earlier post I will be keeping some stuff – I will also be selling some bits and pieces so keep a look out for announcements about that in the next few weeks.

The rest I'm going to give away free on this blog over the next month and a half – it may not be exactly 40 days of 40k but it sounded good. So if you want to own something you've read about on this blog, stay tuned!

But, what exactly am I giving away?

First to be going will be the remnants of my Blood Angels, including plastic Tycho, Sanguinary High Priest conversion and the Melta guy. They won't be finished and painted, they'll be in whatever state they're in, that's the deal. You can pick things up from there and bring them in line with your own army (or just paint them up and put them on the mantlepiece).

In addition to that there will be some Black Templars, Iron Warriors and Eldar, plus anything else 40k that I can find in the attic and don't want to keep.

These giveaways will kick off later this week. Everything will be announced on Twitter also, so if you've got an account follow me to stay up to date.

I will also be posting about my Chaos and Dark Templar armies – the ones that I will be keeping for 6th Edition – and evaluate how things stand. Then, once the new rules are released, I will look at what needs adding or changing and the plan of attack.

It won't be all 40k for the next few weeks though. As my Legion of Everblight army grows there will be updates and photos tracking all the progress and LOTS of new models. With a bit of luck I will have a battle report thrown in there too.

Friday, 8 June 2012

I've just heard the news whilst listening to the latest episode of Gamers Lounge.

Wyrd will be at Gen Con in August and this usually means new stuff. It has been confirmed that there will be a book 4 for Malifaux and it will introduce a new faction into the game – Ten Thunders.

Misaki has been a part of the game from the early days, as part of the Outcast faction, and the Ten Thunders Brothers were introduced last year to support her. Whether they will remain Outcasts, be moved to the new faction, or be available as both is unconfirmed at the moment.

Eric J confirmed that Misaki will not be upgraded to a Henchman, but I just wonder if she will actually become a master in the new faction – Eric's tone of voice just made me think there is something he's not telling us!

My first thoughts about the faction were – great, a new faction, very exciting and something that expands the game. My second thoughts were that this could be treading very heavily on the toes of GCT Studios and their Bushido game, which has been a rising star these last 12 months. My third thought was, damn, I need to get my Bamboo bases back on the go…

Any other thoughts out there?

Other things to note, for those who don't want to listen to the podcast, is a new Guild-orientated Miss model – Miss Sterious – which is intriguing. My guess is a female Death Marshall/Exorcist or maybe Witchling.

The other significant announcement was the expected release of Story packs. From what I can gather they will include new campaign-orientated strategies and will also include new models. After my post about Malifaux campaign thoughts I'm looking forward to seeing these.

Thursday, 7 June 2012

It's something I've been ignoring for years but I've concluded that Twitter is something that needs to be looked at so I have created a Twitter account linked to this blog. I hope to share ongoing thoughts and sneak peeks as I build and paint. I also hope to tweet mid-game thoughts too when the opportunity arises. So come have a look and if you have a Twitter account yourself follow me and I'll return the gesture.

In addition to this I have binned my You Tube account and created a new one. TheDarkTemplarTV is the new channel – there's nothing up there right now but there should be soon. Keep an eye out for announcements.

Wednesday, 6 June 2012

So, back to work today with a bump after eleven days off (though it doesn't feel like it). At least the blog posting schedule should be back on track now. Routine can be a wonderful thing at times.

The last couple of days I've managed to find some decent painting time so made it my mission to complete the two models that have been hanging around the painting table for too long – the Carnivean and Lylyth. Apologies for the appalling photos, they were taken in haste this morning.

Not much to say about the Carnivean after the last few posts. I went back in with blue and purple washes (though they look really harsh up close in the photos, they came out well) to the point the skin was quite dark again. I then highlighted with thinned white to the point it looked balanced again. Claws were done in my usual mix and the base was painted and covered in snow to match the other Legion minis. I have picked up Woodland Scenics snow flock which, unlike the GW one, actually looks like snow not white strands of hair. I mixed into my PVA and water mix and applied to the base – whilst still wet I scattered addition snow flock on top. It covers a multitude of sins on the Carnivean base.

Lylyth didn't need much doing, just a few details finishing and a repaint of her skin to be more in line with the beasts. It was surprising how time consuming this turned out to be.

You may also notice that the bases are two-tone. Unlike every other game I've played, models in Warmachine/Hordes don't have 360 degree vision (except for a select few) so, to avoid any arguments, it is generally accepted that you paint the base edge in quadrants, either 180 or 90 degree sections. I've seen beautifully elaborate base edges full of colour and runes, but I wanted it to be more subtle so went with the Black/Coal Black option… for now.

Currently left on the painting table are the two remaining Shredders and the Raek, all of which should be relatively straightforward to complete. After that I am spoiled for choice. I have a Shepherd and a Nephilim Bolt Thrower built, however, I am due a package any day now with even more goodies!!

Friday, 1 June 2012

I posted last week about the merits of both Warmachines and Hordes, comparing them to 40k and explaining how I couldn't see how 40k would win be back with 6th Edition.

I received a comment from Mik who said he has a "why can't we all just get along" attitude towards it all, and it has stuck with me.

As I type this I am on holiday in Cornwall, Newquay to be exact, and I have a stinking cold - no lounging on the beach today and plenty of time to think and type.

A small fraction of Bull's Ork army

I've had the idea of playing 40k again bobbing around my head all this time, partly due to the rumours of the new rulebook release as well as the new flyers, but also due to the fact that I know my gaming buddy Bull loves his Orks and it is inevitable (as well as a lot of fun) that a game is on the cards once the new rules hit. He will be buying the new Orky flyer and want to give it a test run or two at least.

Having just invested money in WMH I'm not looking to put that down for a while but, as Mik says, why should playing one game exclude the possibility of playing the other? Aside from the cost implications or running two of the more expensive game systems available, my wife going nuts at the prospect of twice as many miniatures co-inhabiting the living space of our home and the division of hobby time between the two, are there any real obstacles?

My Dark Templar

I have been playing 40k for many years and have a significant Chaos force and a ragtag collection of Imperial marines. I've decided that I will collect two 40k armies to sit alongside my Malifaux crews and my two WMH armies. I shall maintain my Iron Warriors, inducting a group of my beastmen bezerkers, forgeworld plaguemarines and thousand sons into their ranks, selling off everything else chaos-related. In tandem with this, I will pick up my Dark Templar project as and when time allows. They will be my only Imperial marines from now on. I have thoroughly tested the resin casting options thanks to my Malcontent bases so what was initially just an idea can be made reality. I have already worked through how several elements will work and it will keep my greenstuff sculpting skills up to scratch. However, if rumours are true, the Chaos codex is imminent and as they require the least amount of time it makes sense to start there.

Iron Warriors' command Rhino

Whether or not the 6th Edition rules are any good is a moot point really. The rulebook will be bought and games will be played, I will just try to limit any spending on GW models - they've had enough of my money already.

On the Warmachine front, I have my fledgling Legion of Everblight force, with another order just gone in to make it even bigger. This will be my main focus here for a while, to get things into shape and have options to game with. I will expand my collection of Cryx models because, well they look fantastic.